I know, most people in New York and the Northeast will kill me for saying this seeing as how they might not be dug out by June but we needed snow badly here in Minnesota! The snow usually provides a layer of protection from the bitter cold that we are oh so happy to be getting. But this winter we are bitterly cold, and we had less then an inch of snow on the ground. It makes for a very bad combination as the bitter cold just keeps coming.
My neighbors just had their septic system freeze, well the drain field froze. Which when you live in the country and have no access to the city sewer system means a long and expensive winter pumping their septic when it gets full instead of letting it drain into your yard.
So most septic systems work by funneling all of your waste water and sewage into a holding tank in your backyard, these are usually buried to certain depths depending on how far away from the house they are. It is deep to allow the solids to sink to the bottom and settle, while allowing the oils and chemicals to float to the surface. You are supposed to pump your septic tank every 3 years on average.
The drainage field is where those of us who live in the north usually run into problems. It is laid out like irrigation piping. These pipes tend to be smaller to allow the water to seep out into the surrounding soil and filter clean before entering the groundwater. Unfortunately thinner pipes means faster freezing. When you don't get adequate snowfall to insulate the ground the frost can go deeper and usually ends up freezing those pipes. That's what happened to my neighbors. Thankfully it wasn't the pipe that leads to the tank or then they would really be in trouble.
Anyway I know this isn't the most sexy of topics but everyone should be aware of the working parts of their house and to take good care of them. Unfortunately no one expected the cold snaps and no snow to go that deep into the ground. So keep an eye on your pipes people! Even though winter is coming to an end those pipes are very important and you don't want to be without water or gas or anything else when it gets cold out!
This is the time of year when the frost has reached farthest down into the ground . . . so more trouble occurs with septic systems, drain fields, etc. Ugh. We also make sure that all winter we don't walk on the ground where those pipes and pieces of our septic system are. Any weight on those areas tends to drive the frost deeper. We're just a couple of degrees above zero again today after our snowfall yesterday. My hubby promises he sees warmer temps forecast for next week. Hooray!
ReplyDeleteYeah they tend to freeze when you aren't paying attention to them. I know that we just kept expecting snow, so the lack of it was really shocking to my aunt and uncle.
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